Bin Laden tape shown days before 9/11 anniversary

The World Today - Friday, 8 September , 2006 12:14:00

Reporter: Kim Landers

ELEANOR HALL: Just a few days before Americans mark the fifth anniversary of the September the 11th attacks, a videotape has been broadcast that appears to show Osama Bin Laden working with other key al-Qaeda figures to prepare for the attack.

Some of the hijackers are shown delivering their videotaped wills and Bin Laden is shown expressing his delight over the suicide mission.

The tape also places one of the most senior al-Qaeda figures captured by the Untied States, who has just been transferred to Guantanamo Bay, at Osama bin Laden's side.

In Washington, Kim Landers reports.

KIM LANDERS: Just days before the fifth anniversary of September the 11th there's been a reminder of the attacks from those who carried them out.

(sound of tape)

An al-Qaeda tape showing Osama Bin Laden meeting some of the hijackers has aired on Arab television station Al Jazeera.

In it, the al-Qaeda leader asks supporters to pray for the men.

OSAMA BIN LADEN (translated): And I strongly advise you to increase your prayers for them and beseech Allah the exalted in your prayer to grant them success.

(sound of praying)

KIM LANDERS: The video includes the last wills of Wail al-Shehri who was on the plane that crashed into north tower of the World Trade Centre and Hamza al-Ghamdi, who was on board the jet that hit the south tower.

(sound of last wills being read)

The results of their attacks are superimposed behind them.

The footage also shows men learning how to conceal knives, going through martial arts drills and practicing how to escape possible capture.

It's not the first time al-Qaeda has released a tape around the anniversary of September the 11th.

FBI Director Robert Mueller says there's no intelligence to suggest a new attack is imminent.

ROBERT MUELLER: We do not have any imminent threat or a threat reporting of an imminent attack in the United States.

That is not to say that there are individuals or groups out there of which we are unaware, that are contemplating such an attack.

KIM LANDERS: The tape's airing came just after US President George W Bush had finished delivering his fourth speech in eight days on America's progress in the war on terror, a speech in which he vowed to bring al-Qaeda members to justice.

GEORGE BUSH: I learned a lot of lessons on 9-11 and one lesson is this: in order to protect this country, we will keep steady pressure, unrelenting pressure on al-Qaeda and its associates. We will deny them safe haven, we will find them and we will bring them to justice.

(sound of clapping)

KIM LANDERS: Al Jazeera aired only a few minutes of what it said was an hour-and-a-half long tape.

One scene shows Osama Bin Laden greeting Ramzi Binalshibh, a key al-Qaeda member suspected of planning the September the 11th attacks. It's believed to be the first time the two men have been seen together.

Only yesterday, President Bush revealed Ramzi Binalshibh had been shifted from a secret CIA prison to Guantanamo and this video may provide prosecutors with crucial evidence.

Pat D'Amuro helped lead the FBI's investigation into September the 11th.

He believes the tape, complete with English subtitles, is designed to rub salt into America's wounds.

PAT D'AMURO: The reason for this tape coming out now is to show that al-Qaeda feels they can be victorious against the United States by going back to the events of 9-11 and try to recruit additional individuals to enter the jihad against the United States.

KIM LANDERS: Roger Cressey was the deputy counterterrorism chief in the White House at the time of the September the 11th attacks.

ROGER CRESSEY: The English subtitles, it was the imagery of Bin Laden greeting the conquering hero, like Ramzi Binalshibh, identifying himself yet again with the 9-11 attack. Those are images that will resonate in a global audience and they are truly intended for an American audience especially ...

KIM LANDERS: President Bush too has been playing to an American audience this week with his frequent speeches about the war on terror.

But on the fifth anniversary of September the 11th, he won't be speaking at any of the three memorial services he'll attend.

The White House says he doesn't want to upstage the victims and their families.